


Hostage Situation

by brightlikeloulou



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Aged Down Characters, Alternate Universe - No Zombie Apocalypse, Angst, Domestic Fluff, Falling In Love, Hospitals, Hostage Situations, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Child Abuse, Sheriff!Rick, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-08-30 02:47:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16756378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brightlikeloulou/pseuds/brightlikeloulou
Summary: Some days, Sheriff Rick Grimes spent behind a desk, filling out paperwork and reports. Other days were more eventful; he'd be called out to domestic disputes or shootings.On this day, he was informed that they had a hostage situation on the other side of town and needed all the backup they could get.Will Dixon, a man well known by the police department for his misbehavior and disregard for the law, was holding his youngest son hostage in his house. One of their officers, Tara Chambler, was on the phone to Dixon and trying to negotiate him into letting his son go.All they knew, was that the youngest Dixon was hurt, and Will Dixon was sure he was going to kill him if the police force didn't let him go.Sheriff Grimes knew very little about the Dixon children, but he knew he that he needed to help the young man in some way. After being discharged from the hospital, and with nowhere else to go, Daryl Dixon moved in with the Sheriff.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My first multi-chapter Rickyl fic, enjoy!
> 
> \---- 
> 
> No proper Rickyl in the first chapter, but don't worry, next chapter xxx

Rick was sitting at his desk and trying desperately to ignore the throb in his head as he went through his paperwork when the station's receptionist rushed into his office, he had his own private one as he was the Sheriff.

"Rick," Amy exclaimed, "There's a hostage situation on the other end of town, 76 Handlers street. William Dixon is holding his youngest son in the house, they need everyone for back up. Officer Chambler's currently on the phone with Dixon trying to negotiate, but so far he's not budging,"

"Thank you, Amy. Is Shane already there?" Rick inquired as he gathered his things quickly, tucking his gun into its holster.

"Yes, he was one of the first responders," She replied as he rushed out the door of his office and through the station.

With his sirens blaring, Rick rushed through the streets and to the other side of town. Throughout all his years of being an officer and later, the Sheriff, he had only experienced a few hostage situations, and one of them was not successful on the police department's part, three teenagers were killed.

Rick didn't know much about the Dixon children, but he was well aware of their father's actions. He had been arrested on several different occasions, public intoxication, assault, drug possession. The one time Rick had arrested him, the man had kicked and screamed the entire time, insulting Rick as much as he could right down to the boots he was wearing. He had shrieked racial slurs at the officer who had been with Rick, a young black woman that had handled it so well that Rick had personally told her that he was proud.

Despite knowing that Will Dixon was bad news, Rick hadn't expected that he would take his son hostage, though the thought of the man being abusive, wasn't outrageous. Rick had seen the oldest Dixon child, Merle, he thought his name was, around a few times in the past years, but not recently, he wondered if he had ended up in prison.

Rick had no recollection of the youngest Dixon, hadn't ever seen him that he was aware of. But there was a chance that he had seen him at one point, but just didn't realise it.

It only took just over five minutes for Rick to reach the Dixon household, he pulled up and found that there was already at least ten other police vehicles around. He quickly put his car in park and got out, he pulled his colt python from its holster and begun to run to the cars closer to the house.

He could see Shane's and made his way immediately to him. "Shane," He called once he got close, and then haunched over the car door with him once he had.

"Rick, you're here, finally,"

"I'm sorry," Rick sighed and looked around, he spotted Tara at a car just in front of them, on the phone and negotiating. "Left soon as Amy let me know. What do we know?"

Shane sighed and glanced over at him for a moment, Rick noticed the sweat on his brow. "He's been holding him for at least three hours. Will called the woman he was having relations with and wanted her to come over and help him, she refused and called us instead,"

"Wanted her help with what?" Rick asked as he looked at the house in front of them, it was small and falling apart, and entirely covered in random crap. Rick could only imagine what it would like on the inside.

"Possibly to hide a body, not sure. We think Daryl, the kid, might still be alive and that Will hadn't gotten to actually killing him yet. At least that's what Dixon's saying. He has been bragging that he's beat the kid though, he hasn't gone into complete detail about it, so we're not quite sure how bad, but we know it's bad enough."

"Shit," Rick sighed, "How could anyone do that to their kid?" He said, he had Carl, and he loved him more than anything, he couldn't imagine ever laying a hand on his precious son.

"It's fucking awful man," Shane agreed, and the anger in his tone was evident. The man was only months away from becoming a father to his and Lori's first child together, and though he wasn't sure, he was beginning to get some fatherly instinct.

Rick and Lori had divorced almost four years ago now, back when Carl was only four years old. It was two years ago that Shane had very awkwardly and very nervously told Rick that he had feelings for Lori, and she had feelings for him too. Though shocked at first, Rick cared about both of them and wanted them to be happy, and he was long over Lori, so he let the two of them know that he was fine with them beginning their relationship.

Five months ago, Shane had shown up at Rick's front door at almost midnight. He looked terrified and desperate, and just out of it. Rick had wrapped an arm around him and then led him into the house, he sat him down on his couch, ignoring his own exhaustion as he got Shane a glass of water.

After they sat in silence for a few minutes, Shane finally spilled that Lori was pregnant. He'd slowly become more okay with it since then, but he was still scared, he didn't that he'd be a good father, that he wouldn't be able to connect with his baby daughter. But Rick knew, Rick knew that as soon he held that baby in his arms, he'd know he'd be okay.

There were a few more minutes where nothing happened, but then Tara announced that Will had hung up the phone and she had lost contact and that the last thing he had said was that he was going to kill. Tara was the first one to begin making her way towards the house as her car was the closest, and several officers began to follow her.

They only got a few meters before the front door to the house was bursting open, and Will Dixon was running out of it, gun raised.

He fired three shots before he was gunned down, and Rick watched in horror as Tara fell onto the ground.

"Tara!" He and several other officers shouted, and paramedics who had been standing by immediately began to rush to her. Other's continued to wait for the officers that had gone into the house to clear it so they could tend to Will's son.

Rick and Shane dropped to the ground beside the young woman, blood was staining her uniform. But her eyes were open, and she was groaning.

"Fucking son of a bitch," She said, and attempted to grab at her arm, but the paramedics pushed it away and then ripped the material of her uniform to get to where the bullet had landed in her upper shoulder.

Rick and Shane got up to give the paramedics room as they worked on Tara.

They quickly wrapped her wound before lifting her onto a stretcher and carrying her to the ambulance, Rick had followed and told her that they'd be heading straight to the hospital after clearing out of the crime scene.

Rick looked back over at the scene once the ambulance doors had closed. Will Dixon was being zipped up in a body bag. _You deserve it you, asshole_ Rick thought as he watched him lift it up. Movement by the front door of the house caught his eye, and he looked over to see another set of paramedics carrying the Dixon child out on a stretcher.

"He's alive!" One of them called to the remaining officers outside, and Rick immediately felt relief flood through him.

This one had gone okay, it wasn't like the teenagers. The hostage had made it out alive.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanna be clear that everyone is younger in this fic. Rick is 26 years old. It's not going to be a fic about 19-year-old Daryl and late 40 something Rick, don't worry.

Once they were free to leave the crime scene almost three hours after Rick had first arrived, both he and Shane piled into his car and made their way to the hospital.

They needed to check up on Tara. They had been told that she was going to be just fine, but she was Rick's friend, and he was still worried. They also needed to see the young Dixon, if the doctors would let them.

After getting the car parked and talking to both Dixon and Tara's doctor, they made their way to Tara's room. Rick and Shane were told that Tara was fine for visitors, but Daryl was only just waking up after being knocked out by his father and needed to have tests and x-rays done, and that the doctor would come and collect one of the officers when he could receive visitors.

Rick and Shane walked down the seemingly never-ending hallway to Tara's room, and Rick held a bouquet of flowers that he had purchased from the gift shop for the young woman.

Shane knocked on the door when they reached Tara's room, and then they entered when they heard her call for them to come in. The heavy blue door swung closed behind them, and Tara smiled at them from where she laid in the hospital bed, she was hooked up to an IV and had her left arm in a sling.

"Hey, Sheriff and Deputy," She greeted them cheerfully, and then looked up at the nurse who was writing things down on a chart.

"Hey," They both replied, and Rick walked over to her as Shane took a seat, he leaned down and kissed her forehead before handing the bouquet of flowers to her.

"How're you doing?" Rick asked and took a seat on the bed by her legs when she motioned for him.

"You should ask my lovely nurse," She said with a grin, and Shane and Rick shared a look.

Rick looked up at the nurse, and Rick got why Tara seemed to be perfectly happy despite being in a hospital with a bullet wound. The nurse was a gorgeous Latina woman who looked around their age. She had long dark hair pulled back in a tight ponytail, and her nametag read _Rosita_. The nurse shook her head and smiled at Tara before she met Rick's eyes.

"Miss Chambler here is doing fine. The wound was just a flesh one and should heal quickly. She'll be off work for at least a month," Rosita told them.

"See, that last bit is just bullshit,"

"Is not," Rosita argued with a stern look at Tara, "You need to give yourself time to heal, if you don't, your arm will end up never being the same,"

Rick watched as Tara hummed and playfully smirked at the nurse, "Well, maybe I'll need a personal nurse over the next month, make sure I stay in line,"

Rick smirked at Shane, and Shane smirked right back, the both of them amused by their colleague's antics.

"If that was your way of asking me out, it was awful," Rosita said and tucked her clipboard under her arm.

"See, now that's not a no,"

Rosita laughed softly and shook her head as she tucked some hair behind her ear, "I'll be back in a few hours to check on you again. Come up with something better by the time I get back," She said and then walked around the bed, petting Tara's foot as she passed them.

Rick snorted once the nurse had left the room and looked at Tara again with a quirked brow. "You seem to be enjoying yourself,"

Tara smiled, "Of course I am, she's gorgeous,"

Shane snorted and lifted his feet up onto the bed, his boots smearing some dirt on the white covers. "You got game Tara,"

"I sure do," She replied, "Can sniff out chicks into chicks from a mile away,"

Both Rick and Shane laughed.

"I'm sorry you got hurt," Rick finally said after a few moments.

Tara smiled at him and reached out to pet his hand, "It wasn't your fault Rick. Wasn't nobody's fault but Dixon's," She reassured him, “How's the kid?" She then asked, her brows pulled together in concern.

Rick nodded, "He's just waking up from his father knocking him out, they're taking him for tests and x-rays now, they'll come and get me when I can see him,"

"Okay good, I was worried that he wouldn't make it. Dixon wasn't clear about how badly he had hurt him,"

It was nearly two hours later when the doctor showed up at Tara's room and let them know that Daryl was finished with his tests and x-rays and that someone could come and see him, but only one person as the boy has just been through a traumatic experience and they didn't want him to get overwhelmed.

Rick decided that he would go and that Shane would stay with Tara to keep her company.

"Do you want to inform me of the boy's status?" Rick asked as he and the doctor walked down the hall.

The doctor nodded and pulled a clipboard from under her arm, "Alright, Daryl Dixon, nineteen years old. He came in unconscious, woke up after two hours and forty-five minutes. The injuries he has obtained is swelling and bruising to his face, his nose was broken, but we've reset it, and it'll heal just fine. He also has more bruises over other various parts of his body. He has some slash marks on his back that he told us were from a belt, the slashes weren't too deep and just needed to be cleaned and wrapped. His knee was also injured, but he doesn't remember how, he has a brace that he needs to wear for a few weeks," The doctor told him, and Rick's about to speak, but apparently she wasn't done and continued. "He has three cracked ribs, all of which can heal on their own. The most substantial injury is that he's permanently lost vision in his left eye,"

Rick sighed heavily and ran a hand over his face. All of that just from one beating, who knows what the boy had gone through during his life. Rick felt incredibly glad that Will Dixon was dead because he didn't deserve to live after what he had done. Rick couldn't imagine ever doing anything like that to Carl.

"Jesus," Rick said.

"Tell me about it," The doctor said and pushed some red hair out of her eyes, "Poor kid. Oh, I should also mention that he's on quite a lot of painkillers right now, so you shouldn't take an official statement,"

"No, I won't," Rick agreed, "I'll just ask a couple of questions and let him know that his father was killed and that I will be coming back to take an official statement,"

"Alright," The doctor replied and then came to a stop in front of a door, "And don't stay very long, he needs some rest and I think he has more visitors coming in an hour or so, he asked us to call them, one of the girls in reception did it,"

Rick nodded his thanks to the doctor, and then pushed open the door and stepped into the hospital room. He closed the door behind him as he looked at the boy in the bed. He was slightly sat up and had the thin hospital sheets pulled up to his chest. The only wounds Rick could see were the ones on his face, his right eye was swollen, which meant the boy might have very little vision if he couldn't see out that one very well, and was now blind in the other. His face was an array of blue and purple bruises, especially dark on his nose as it had been broken. He also had a few cuts on his face, and a bandaged wrapped around his head.

The boy lazily turned his head towards him, and his blind eye squinted. "Who're you?" He grunted, his voice gravelly and thick with an accent.

Rick took a few steps closer, and he was wearing his uniform, so he was right that Daryl couldn't see well at all at that moment, "Hi, Daryl. I'm the Sheriff, my name's Rick Grimes. May I sit?" He asked softly and motioned to the chair by his bed.

"Sure," The boy grunted.

"Thank you," Rick asked and sat down, "Now, I'm not here to take an official statement because you're on painkillers and need rest so I won't stay long,"

Daryl nodded in reply, and then seemed to wince in pain at the movement. Rick felt so sorry for the boy because it was clear that he was in so much pain.

"I dunno what happened after I passed out," Daryl said quietly, and then licked his split lip.

Rick winced slightly because he wasn't at all sure how Daryl was going to take that his father had been killed. It wasn't uncommon for children to still have an attachment to their parents even if they were abusing them. "Daryl," Rick said softly, and met the boy's eyes, even though he knew that he could barely see him. "Your father ran out of the house firing a gun, and we had no choice but to shoot him down. He died instantly," Rick told him after a few moments.

Daryl was quiet for a long time, it easily could have been a minute or two. "Did he hit anyone?" He asked quietly, a tremble in his voice.

"He hit one of our officers, but it was just a flesh wound to her arm, and she's doing just fine, having a great time flirting with her nurse," Rick replied.

"That's all that matters then," Daryl huffed and then leaned his head back against the pillows.

Rick sighed heavily and stood up from his chair, it was obvious that Daryl was exhausted and needed to process the information that Rick had just given him. "I'm going to head off now, you need to rest, okay? I'll be back sometime tomorrow to take an official statement,"

"Okay," Daryl replied, voice becoming more drowsy.

Rick smiled at him, "I hope you sleep well," He said and then exited the room, he closed the door quietly behind him and then began making his way down the long corridor, a churning sickness in his stomach.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, Rick once again found himself walking through the long hallways of the hospital. He had his clipboard and pen tucked under his arm as he hoped to be able to take Daryl's statement that day.

He had also planned on going to see Tara before he saw Daryl, but the woman had texted him earlier that morning to let him know that she was being discharged, and would be gone by the time he got to the hospital.

His eyes felt heavy, he hadn't slept much the previous night, and he wasn't quite sure why.

He had checked at the front desk to make sure that Daryl's room was still the same before he proceeded through the hospital. It only took him a few minutes to reach the boy's room, and he heard chatter coming from inside when he reached the door.

He lifted his fist and gently knocked on the door, loud enough to be heard, but not loud enough to wake Daryl if he was asleep. Just a few seconds later, he could hear footsteps coming towards the door, and then it was pulled open.

A boy that looked around Daryl's age stood in front of him. He was taller, taller than Rick, and had bright blue eyes, curly hair, and stubble. It took a few moments, but he realised that he recognised the kid, he had done work on his car a few months ago.

"Sheriff," The boy greeted with a warm smile and held his hand out for Rick to shake, which he did.

"Hello, your name?"

"Aaron Raleigh, Daryl's best friend," The boy introduced himself and then stepped to the side for Rick to be able to come in.

"It's good to meet you," Rick said politely as his eyes settled on the boy that was laying slightly propped up in the bed. His face didn't look any better than the day before, it was still swollen and covered in a colorful array of bruises. "Hi, Daryl," Rick greeted quietly when the boy looked over to him.

"Sheriff?" Daryl asked, proving to Rick that his vision was still no better, but that he some-what recognised his voice from the previous day.

"Yeah, it's Rick," Rick replied and then moved to sit in the chair by the bed, "If you're up to it, I'd like to take an official statement today,"

Daryl nodded after a few seconds.

"Eric just got here, Daryl," Aaron said from where he stood by the door, "So, if you want some privacy, I'll go get him, and we'll go get some lunch from the cafeteria and come back in an hour or so,"

"Okay, tell 'im I say hi," Daryl replied quietly.

Aaron smiled at him and then left the hospital room, closing the door behind him.

"Are you okay to start?" Rick asked, keeping his voice calm and even in the hopes that Daryl would remain calm.

"Let's get it over with,"

Rick arranged his clipboard on his knee, several pages of blank paper and his pen ready to go. "Okay, first of all, I need to know if your father has ever acted violently towards you before?"

Daryl immediately shifted uncomfortably, "Uh," He started, and after several moments, he didn't get anything else out.

Rick stood up from his chair, "How about I pour you some water?" He said and approached the little table in the room where a jug of water and a blue plastic cup sat. Once he had the cup full, he walked back over to Daryl, "Here," He said, and placed it in the boy's hand and sat down as the boy took a few sips.

"Thanks," Daryl replied, and Rick watched how carefully the man placed it down on the little table that was over his lap. Rick understood that due to being almost completely blind, was causing Daryl some trouble.

"Now," Rick started again, "If you don't want to, you do not have to go into detail, but I need you to answer my questions, okay?"

"Fine," Daryl grunted after several long moments, seeming very displeased, "Yeah, he was violent before, always had been,"

That made Rick's gut churn, with anger, but he tried his best to hide it as he began writing, "Okay, thank you, Daryl. You're doing great," Rick told the boy and looked up for a moment to see him turn his head away. "Now, I'd like to you to recount what happened yesterday, everything that you remember,"

Daryl squirmed and began fiddling with the sheets in his fingers. "I uh, came home about two, I think. He started screaming at me, had seen me in town with Aaron and Eric, saw them kissin'." Daryl started, his voice still sounded weak, and now filled with nerves, "Starting screaming that I was just like them. He just screamed at me for a while, half an hour maybe, and then he shoved me to the ground, ripped my shirt off and started whippin' my back with his belt,"

Daryl stopped, and Rick watched as he swallowed thickly and it was clear to him that Daryl was extremely uncomfortable. He paused his writing for a second and placed a gentle hand on Daryl's own.

"You're doing great, Daryl. Keep going when you can,"

A minute later, after several more sips of his water, Daryl began to speak again, "He didn't do it too bad, got bored soon enough and then just starting hitting and kicking me. I let 'im do it for a while, and then I couldn't take it and tried to get up, but when I did, he grabbed me and shoved my face down into the coffee table. Think that's what fucked my eye, and that was when I passed out. The last thing I remembered after that was waking up here,"

Rick nodded gratefully and scribbled down the man's recount, his handwriting a complete ugly mess.

He looked up when he finished, "Is that it? Is there anything else you can remember?"

Daryl shook his head, "No, 'm sorry," He replied quietly, and he sounded incredibly disappointed in himself, and it made Rick sad that the boy had such little self-worth.

Rick scooted closer to the boy, and as he had done earlier, placed his hand on Daryl's. "Don't be sorry; you have been through a lot, don't ever feel sorry for it. Some things might come back to you over the next couple of days, so you make sure to contact me if you do,"

Daryl didn't lift his head, probably didn't matter if he did due to his visual impairments. "Okay," He finally whispered.

Rick smiled and patted his hand, "Would you like me to stay until your friends get back? He asked, having gotten what he needed.

"Nah. Wanna get some sleep,"

"Okay, you sleep well, alright?" Rick said, and part of him didn't want to leave, he wanted to stay and make sure the young boy was okay, but he forced himself to stand up.

"Thanks," Daryl replied, so quietly that Rick had barely heard him.

 

* * *

 

Instead of heading out of the hospital and to his car, he made his way through the hospital to the cafeteria, in hopes that he would find Aaron and Eric were there. He had a couple of questions concerning Daryl that he wanted to ask them.

He walked into the crowded area and was met with the loud chatter of the people around, and the scent of the various meals that were on offer. He looked around for a few moments, and when he had no luck, began walking around aimlessly, looking for the tall curly-headed boy.

It took him a few minutes and being forced to chat with a few people that recognised him for him to do so. The couple was sitting at a table by the window; he could see Aaron drinking a coffee, and an auburn-haired man sat opposite him with a plastic fork on his hand.

Rick approached them immediately and smiled when Aaron met his eyes.

"Sheriff, everything go okay?" He asked concerned.

Rick nodded, "Yes, everything's okay. I was wondering I could sit for a moment?"

"Of course," Aaron replied, and motioned to the seat beside Eric as he had a bag sat on the one beside him, "This is my boyfriend, Eric,"

Rick smiled at the auburn-haired man and shook his hand, feeling secretly proud of the two young boys for how open they were about their relationship, "Hi, Rick Grimes," He introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you, Rick," Eric replied with a warm and friendly smile.

"So, what can I help you with?" Aaron asked.

"I was wondering a couple of things about Daryl," He answered, and continued when Aaron nodded, "How's he going to pay for his hospital bills? And does he have any idea about where he's going to live once he's discharged?"

"He's got enough money saved up to be able to pay his hospital bills and follow up doctors appointments, but it's everything he has, puts him back at square one. He's been working at the mechanic's with me for two years now, and it's a steady job, he would have more money too, but his father forced him to give some of it up,"

"Jesus, the fucking reasons to hate that man just seem to be piling up,"

Aaron sighed heavily and nodded, while Eric quietly ate his meal. "As for living arrangements, he won't be able to afford a place after paying the bills, and he really shouldn't be living alone for the next couple of weeks anyway due to his wounds. Right now, his only option is mine and Eric's couch. We live in a studio apartment, so we don't have a lot of room."

Rick nodded in understanding and ran one of his hands through his curls and the other over the stubble on his face. He had figured that that, or something similar would be the case, Daryl would have to move in with someone else.

Rick had done it before, offered up his spare bedroom to people who needed it, a homeless man that he once helped get back on his feet, people in similar situations to Daryl. He found himself wanting to do the same thing again for Daryl; he had seen what the boy was like, scared, shy, quiet and left with permanent damage from his father. Rick knew it would be both physical and emotional.

It was clear that both Aaron and Eric loved him, and wanted to help him, but Rick figured that the boy would be more comfortable in his house where he would have a comfortable queen bed, and a bathroom to himself, than a studio apartment on the couch. But, the factor of being with his friends or a complete stranger also played into what the boy would be more comfortable with.

Finally coming to a decision, Rick looked up at Aaron again, "Alright. I've taken people in before that needed it, and I will happily do it again for Daryl. I'd like the two of you to talk to him about it, see what he says; he'd listen more to you than me."

Aaron and Eric blinked at him in shock for a few moments, "Are you sure?" Eric asked from beside him; his meal was long forgotten.

"Yes, if he'd let me, I'd like to help him,"

Aaron immediately nodded at him, smiling broadly, "Of course, we'll talk to him, thank you,"

"He'd for sure be more comfortable in a house than in a studio apartment," Eric said and patted Rick's shoulder.

Rick smiled and reached into his pocket to pull his phone out, "I'll give you my number so you can let me know what he thinks, and tell me when he gets discharged,"

Aaron nodded, "Yes, okay," He replied, and pulled his own phone out, and the two of them exchanged numbers.

 

* * *

  

Later that night, Rick was stood in the bedroom doorway of his son's room and was watching the eight-year-old sleep. He was on his back with the checkered covers pulled up to his chin, he looked so peaceful, his lips were slightly parted and his hair messy.

Rick rechecked his phone, for what could have been the thousandth time that night. He was yet to hear from Aaron and was still hoping that Daryl would take him up on his offer, but he really couldn't be sure what the boy would think of it.

Rick tucked the phone back into his sweats and walked into Carl's bedroom. He squatted down on the floor by the bed, and he reached out to stroke a hand through Carl's hair. The strands were soft beneath his fingers, and he smiled when the boy screwed his nose up a little.

He leaned forward, kissed the boys head, whispered "I love you," and then left the room, closing the door behind him.

He went to his own bedroom after that, and he forced himself to put his phone down, and go to sleep.

It took him a while, but eventually, he closed his eyes, and he slipped into unconsciousness.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heaps of Rickyl in this chapter :)

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Rick?" Shane asked from where he was sat on the chair in front of Rick's desk, sucking a lollipop from the lolly jar that sat on Rick's desk.

The lolly jar was for the kids that came through his office, usually when they were witnesses to a crime, and he had to question them. Rick hated questioning children, hated that innocent eyes had been subjected to crimes.

"I have to do something, Shane," Rick replied, not looking up from where he was trying to go through a file, "He has nowhere to go other than his friend's couch, and with his injuries, that is not ideal for him,"

Shane sighed and popped the red candy from his mouth, "It's just, the whole Dixon family is trouble. The boy's uncle is the same, and his mother was too before she passed. The chances are, he'll be the same, that won't look good on you,"

Rick sighed and finally looked up at his best friend, "Look, Shane, I'll keep an eye out for any trouble, sure, but so far, he seems like a good kid. I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt,"

Shane shrugged, "That's fair enough, man," He replied and looked like he was about to say something else, but there was a knock on the door of Rick's office.

"Come in," Rick called out.

It was Amy, the receptionist, who pushed the door open. She gave him a warm smile, as she usually did, "Mr. Raleigh is here with Mr. Dixon, Sheriff," She told him.

Rick smiled back, and stood up from his desk, "Oh, thank you, I'll be right out," He said and proceeded to collect his things off his desk, tucking his phone and wallet into his pocket, and placing the file into his top drawer.

The day after making his offer, Aaron had gotten back to Rick via text message and said that Daryl would like to take him up on it, as long as he was sure he wouldn't be a bother. That was a week ago now, and Daryl had just been discharged from the hospital.

Rick had said he would get off work early to come and pick Daryl up, but Aaron had told him that they had some paperwork to fill out and then had to sort out follow up appointments for Daryl, and also had to pick up the boy's prescriptions. They decided that once they were done, Aaron would bring Daryl to the station.

After making sure he had all of his things collected and had done a quick cleaning of his desk, he and Shane made their way out of his office.

When they reached Shane's desk, he sat down and kicked his feet up onto the wooden surface, "Good luck, brother," He said to him.

Rick nodded, "Thanks," He replied, and continued making his way through the station.

"They're waiting outside, Rick," Amy told him when he was within earshot, and he nodded his thanks to her and then made his way to the front entrance of the station.

The air was a little chilly as Rick stepped outside, it was early September, and it was beginning to get cold. He crossed his arms over his chest to try and warm himself up as he looked around the car park in search of the two young boys.

It took a few moments, but he eventually spotted them. They were both stood by a blue pick-up that Rick assumed was Aaron's car. Rick immediately began to approach them.

The two chatting boys looked over when they heard his footsteps, and Aaron offered him a broad, friendly smile, while Daryl shyly looked down at his hands. Rick smiled back at the both of them.

"Hello," He greeted and accepted Aaron's hand when he held it out for him to shake.

"Hi, Sheriff," Aaron replied.

"Rick, please," He said, and then grinned when Daryl looked up at him, "Well, you look much better," He said, and the boy did, there was still bruising and healing cuts on his face, but the swelling on his good eye had gone down, and Rick assumed that he could now see.

Daryl's lips twitched in a shy smile, "Yeah," He said quietly.

Understanding that Daryl was probably very nervous, Rick looked back to Aaron, "Feel free to come by whenever, please. Eric too, and any other friends,"

"Thank you," Aaron replied, "I'm sure me and Eric will be over soon enough to check on him," He said, and petted Daryl's hip.

They chatted for a few more minutes before Aaron got back in his car, and Rick and Daryl made their way across the parking lot to where Rick had parked his black SUV. It took them a few minutes due to Daryl's limp.

"Are you okay to get in with your knee?" Rick asked as he pressed the button on his keys, and the car unlocked.

Daryl nodded, "Yeah, 's okay,"

Rick smiled at him, and then walked around the car to the driver's side, and hopped inside. Daryl did the same, and once sat down, pulled his seat belt over his chest.

Rick started the car and made his way out of the station's parking lot. He wanted to get home as soon as possible to get Daryl comfortable and sorted.

"Now," Rick said as they pulled onto the main road, and he could see Daryl look over at him out of the corner of his eye, "I've noticed you don't have anything on you, but that's okay. The house has been cleared as a crime scene, so we can go there tomorrow to collect whatever belongings you'd like to keep,"

"Thank you," Daryl said quietly and shifted a little in the seat.

Rick smiled at the boy's shyness and reached for the dial to adjust the car's heater, and he turned it up a little. Daryl was only in jeans and a thin t-shirt, and Rick could see he was shivering slightly.

"So, I also have a son," Rick said, he needed to explain the situation with Carl, Shane, and Lori now that he was going to be living with him, "Me and my ex-wife, Lori, divorced years ago, and we share custody of Carl. She gets him one week, and then I get him the next, I'll pick him up from school this Friday," Rick explained, and Daryl nodded along as he listened, "Me and Lori are on good terms, she's with my best friend Shane now, and they're expecting their first child together in a couple of months,"

"Sounds like it's complicated," Daryl said quietly, and Rick noticed that he was chewing at hangnails around his thumb, he wondered if it was a nervous habit.

"At first it was, awkward too. But, we're all used to it now, and it works for us,"

Daryl hummed quietly.

They drove in silence the rest of the way back to Rick's home in silence.

 

* * *

 

They entered the house through the garage instead of the front door; Rick preferred to keep his car inside the garage of a night. With a hand on the small of the boy's back, Rick led him down the hall into the spare bedroom on the first floor of the house.

"There's another spare bedroom on the second floor, but I figure this will be easier on your knee," Rick informed him as he gestured for Daryl to sit down on the bed, which he did.

"This is good, thanks," Daryl said, "You've got a nice house,"

Rick smiled at him, "Thank you. I like it." He replied, "Now, the ensuite is just through that door there, why don't you go jump in the shower and I'll go get some pajamas for you to borrow, I'll leave them on the bed,"

Daryl nodded and stood up. Rick followed the boy into the bathroom, quickly checking that it was stocked with toiletries and that it had fresh towels. He left after quickly showing Daryl how to adjust the water in the shower, closing the white wooden door behind him.

He made his way out of the bedroom and up the stairs to his own room, making a mental note as he passed Carl's bedroom that he needed to change the boy's sheets before he came home on Friday.

He entered his walk-in wardrobe and began going through his clothes. He eventually settled on a pair of grey sweatpants, a long-sleeved maroon sweater, and some black boxers. He figured that they'd fit well enough, but that the sweater might be a bit tight on Daryl's shoulders.

By the time Rick had gone backstairs and into the spare bedroom, the shower was running, and the bathroom door had been closed.

Rick hoped that by the time Daryl got into bed that night, he was comfortable. He wondered how long it had been since Daryl actually was completely comfortable.

Rick fished his phone out of his pocket as he left the spare bedroom. He sent a quick text to Shane to ask him to inform Lori of what was going on, but that he would still be okay to pick Carl up from school on Friday and look after him for the week.

After sending the text, Rick decided that he'd get started on some dinner for the two of them.

He collected some chicken, potatoes, peas, corn, and carrots to cook up for their dinner. Rick wasn't the best cook, but he could cook basic meals.

Everything was cooking, and Rick was turning the chicken when Daryl slowly limped into the main area of the house. Rick smiled at him, happy now that he knew the boy was definitely warm and not shivering as he had been in the car.

"This shouldn't take too long," He told him.

Daryl walked over to the kitchen island and looked over at what Rick was cooking. "What is it?" He asked curiously.

"Just some chicken and veggies, I don't have a lot of talent when it comes to cooking," He said with a soft laugh.

"I like cooking," Daryl said quietly, almost a whisper like he was embarrassed about it.

"That's a good thing, Daryl," Rick said and moved back to the stove to check the peas and corn weren't burning.

"My dad didn't think so,"

Rick shook his head softly, felt some anger bubble in his stomach like it did any time Daryl's father was brought up. He couldn't understand how someone could hurt their child.

"Your dad was awful; I doubt he knew anything good,"

Daryl went quiet at that and fidgeted with his fingers. He was quiet for several minutes, watching Rick cook, "Could I have some water?" He eventually asked, his voice nervous like he would have gotten in trouble for asking.

"Of course, there are some bottles in the fridge," Rick answered, motioning with his hands, "Don't feel like you have to ask for food or water, Daryl,"

Daryl shrugged and walked around the kitchen island towards the large, black fridge, and he pulled it open, grabbing a plastic water bottle and then closing it again.

"Bein' polite," Daryl replied softly, and Rick noticed the red flush on the boy's cheeks.

Rick smiled softly, "Go sit down on the couch. The remote should be over there somewhere, find something for us to watch while we eat," He offered.

Daryl nodded and limped around furniture until he was sat down on the comfortable navy blue couch. Rick watched as he spent several long moments struggling to figure out how to work remote before he managed to start switching between channels.

About twenty minutes later, Rick had finished cooking the food and served it out on plates for him and Daryl. He was pleased with himself for only managing to burn the chicken slightly. He tucked the salt and pepper shakers under one arm, and a bottle of water for himself before he grabbed the plates and made his way over to the couch to join Daryl.

Noticing Rick's struggle, Daryl quickly reached for the salt and pepper shakers and the bottle of water and sat them down on the coffee table before accepting the plate of food that Rick held out to him. Rick then went back to the kitchen and collected the pot of gravy that he had also made up.

Rick sat down on the couch beside the young boy and used the salt and pepper while Daryl poured gravy over everything on his plate. He passed it to Rick once he was done, and took the salt and pepper from them.

Rick watched with a quirked brow as Daryl began shoveling food into his mouth. He wondered just how hungry the boy had been as he started to eat his food. He lips twitched when his eyes settled on the TV, and he realised that Daryl had his eyes glued to an animal documentary of some sort.

The two of them ate in a comfortable silence, and once they were done, they carried everything back to the kitchen, where Daryl insisted on helping Rick do the dishes.

"Can I go to bed?" Daryl asked as he placed the last plate away in the cupboard, and stifled a yawn in his palm, even though it was only just after eight.

"Of course," Rick replied, with a soft smile, "I'm going to head into my office and try and do some work, I'll see you in the morning,"

Daryl nodded, "Thank you," He said quietly, and began walking out of the kitchen, "For everything," He added a few moments later and then tried to walk faster to his room, but his knee didn't make it easy.

"Goodnight," Rick replied softly, and then grabbed the two cloths that they had used to dry up, so he could put them into the laundry.

Three hours later, Rick had finished in his office and was making his way through the house to go to bed. He got to the foot of the stairs and then decided to take a detour.

He walked to the bedroom Daryl was staying in, deciding that he wanted to check on the boy. He carefully and quietly pushed the door open and peeked inside. He found Daryl laying on his stomach, his face smooshed into the pillow and the covers were pulled up to his chin. He was fast asleep.

Rick smiled softly at the sight, and then closed the door again before going to his own bedroom. 

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are loved! Xx
> 
> Tumblr - iiloulouii


End file.
